קִיר
wall
‘wall’ is one of 3 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H7023 appears in the Book of 2 Samuel — 1 distinct verse. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
2 Samuel
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
At its core, קיר (qîyr) means “wall.” It first appears in Exodus 30:3. It turns up in 64 verses across 16 books, a moderately common footprint. The word gravitates to Ezekiel (34%), then 1 Kings and 1 Samuel. Not a single-sense word: explore its full sense range. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H7023 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 64
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 64 distinct verses.
- 16 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 16 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #536
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 536 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 64 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 64 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 50 verses · 78%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 8 verses · 13%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 6 verses · 9%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 3 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Wall 29×, Walls 10×, Against the wall 8×
- American Standard Version†: Wall 27×, Walls 10×, Against the wall 3×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Wall 30×, Walls 12×, Through the wall 5×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Wall 35×, Walls 8×, Walls of 7×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H7023 across 74† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 21 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H7023 across 71† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 21 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 3 further occurrences.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H7023 across 63† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 11 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 11 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H7023 across 76† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 8 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
13 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 13 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
קיר I
- 1. usually of house or chamber:
- a. inner surface, Am 5:19; 1 S 18:11 + 9 times, + (of temple) 1 K 6:15a + v 15b (but read קוֹרוֹת beams, with 𝔊 The Kit Benz), v 16, 27(×2) + 6 times e.g. Amos 5:19
- b. outer surface, 2 K 9:33; Ez 33:30; Is 59:10 (in sim.); so זֶרֶם קִיר Is 25:4 (but Lo Kn Gr Di Du CheHpt. al. read קֹר; JP PetersJBL xi (1892), 46 proposes בָּרָד [as 28:2]); of temple 1 K 6:5(×2), 6, cf. Ez 41:6(×2). e.g. 2 Kings 9:33
- c. both inner and outer v 17, 20, 25. e.g. Ezekiel 41:17
- d. indeterminate, 12:5, 7, 12; 23:14. e.g. Ezekiel 12:5
- e. thickness specified, Ez 41:5, 9, 12, 13 (of Ezekiel’s temple). e.g. Ezekiel 41:5
- f. as enclosing, 2 K 4:10 (of עֲלִיָּה, q.v.); as separating Ez 43:8. e.g. 2 Kings 4:10
- 2. wall of (temple-)court Ez 8:7, 8(×2) (in vision); of vineyard Nu 22:25(×2) (J), of city 35:4 (P), cf. ק׳ חַחוֹמָה Jos 2:15 (JE) the (upper) surface of the wall. e.g. Ezekiel 8:7
- 3. more gen., 1 K 5:13, and (in phr. מַשְׁתִּין בְּקִיר) 1 S 25:22, 34; 1 K 14:10; 16:11; 21:21; 2 K 9:8; in fig. Ez 13:12, 14 (appar. fem., but city Jerus. prob. in mind, cf. AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 85 Köii. 2, 175), v 15(×2) (‖ חַיִץ v 10), ק׳ נָטוּי ψ 62:4; אֶבֶן ק׳ 2 S 5:11 = ק׳ 1 Ch 14:1, cf. Hb 2:11 (fig.); קִיר בַּרְזֶל Ez 4:3 (symbol.).—Is 22:5 is dub.: usually wall (so even Du CheHpt Marti), but ref. not clear; Ew CheComm. iii. קִיר; Klo Brd WklAlttest. Unters. 177 קוֹעַ, so WMMHast DB kir, but v. Drlb. koa. e.g. 1 Kings 5:13
- 4. of flat side of altar Ez 41:22; Ex 30:3; 37:26; Lv 1:15; 5:9 (all P). e.g. Ezekiel 41:22
- 5. קִירוֹת לִבִּי Je 4:19 walls of my heart (as seat of pain). e.g. Jeremiah 4:19
קיר II in n.pr.loc. of Moabite cities (cf. קר = city MI 11, 12, 24, pl. קרן l
- 1. ק׳ מוֹאָב Is 15:1, poss. Rabba, S. of Arnon, v. BuhlGeogr. 270. e.g. Isaiah 15:1
- 2. ק׳ חֶ֫רֶשׂ Je 48:31, 36, ק׳ חָ֑רֶשׂ Is 16:11 = ק׳ חֲרֶ֫שֶׂת Is 16:7, ק׳ חֲרָ֑שֶׂת 2 K 3:25 (Gi ק׳ חֲרָ֑שֶׁת), perhaps Kerak, S. of Rabba, v. Buhl ib., and cp. (on Kerak) PalmarDes. of Ex. ii. 472 DowlingPEQ Oct. 1896, 327, especially Mauss in de LuynesVoyage à la Mer Morte (1864), ii. 106 ff., iii (Atlas, ad fin.), 13 pl.. e.g. Jeremiah 48:31
קיר III ק׳ orig. house of Aramaic Am 9
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.m.ψ 62:4 wall (√ unknown);—abs. ק׳ Nu 22:25; +, קִר Is 22:5; cstr. קִיר 1 K 6:5 +; pl. קִירוֹת 1 K 6:16 +, cstr. id., v 5 +; sf. קִירֹתָיו Ex 30:3 +, etc.;—wall, especially as flat surface:
II. in n.pr.loc. of Moabite cities (cf. קר = city MI 11, 12, 24, pl. קרן l:29);—𝔊 usually om., or reads τὸ τεῖχος;—
III. n.pr.terr. et gent. ק׳ orig. house of Aramaic Am 9:7; קִ֫ירָה as place of exile Am 1:5; 2 K 16:9 (𝔊 τὴν πόλιν); קִיר as people in Assyrian army Is 22:6 (v 5 vid. i. קִיר ad fin.).—Location dub., v. conspectus of older views Dr Am 1:5; plausible is some tribe in S. Babylonia, E. of Tigris WklAT Unters. 178, cf. HalRÉJ; xi. 60;—WMMHast. DB kir everywhere del., or em. קוֹעַ, but v. i. קִיר 3.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from קור (qûwr) (H6979) — to dig.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
קִיר I
- c. (b. h.; [surrounding, enclosure,]
- 1. wall, recess, chamber. R. Hash. 16ᵇ; Snh. 109ᵃ, v. נָטָה. Y. Ber. IV, 8ᵇ bot. (ref. to Is. XXXVIII, 2) באיזה ק׳ נשא עיניו to what wall did he direct his eyes? בקִירָהּ של רחב to the wall of Rahab’s house (ref. to Josh. II, 15); ib. בקירה של שונמית to the ḳir (chamber) of the Shunamite; השונמית ק׳ אחת וכ׳ the Shunamite made one chamber for Elisha &c.; Bab. Ber. 10ᵇ. Zeb. 65ᵃ ק׳ העליון the upper portion of the side of the altar; ק׳ הכבש the masonry of the ascent to the altar; a. fr.—Pl. קִירוֹת. Y. Ber. l. c. בק׳ בה"מ וכ׳ he directed his eyes to the walls of the Temple; בק׳ לבו וכ׳ to the recesses of his own heart he directed his eyes; Bab. ib. l. c. התפלל מק׳ לבו he prayed out of the recesses &c.—2) rim, border of mats, (v. גְּדָנְפָא). Succ. 20ᵇ e.g. Isaiah 38:2
קִיר II
- (or קוּר), Pa. קַיֵּיר (sec. verb of קרר) to cool. Ab. Zar. 38ᵇ וקַיְּירֵי מבינתא וכ׳ (Ms. M. וקרירי) and they cool (the body) from the hair of the head to &c.
קיר
- , Targ. II Esth. III, 8 some ed., v. קִירָא
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 52 distinct written forms H7023 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H7023, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 8 — not the complete family. 3 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 62 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 64 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Exodus 30:3
- Leviticus 1:15
- Numbers 22:25
- Joshua 2:15
- 1 Samuel 18:11
- 2 Samuel 5:11
- 1 Kings 6:5
- 2 Kings 4:10
- 1 Chronicles 14:1
- 2 Chronicles 3:7
- Psalms 62:3
- Isaiah 22:5
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
